Klimato is a Swedish start-up measuring, tracking and communicating the carbon footprint of food. It started back in 2017 when a few friends began investigating food-related emissions in school canteens in Stockholm as part of a university project. They came across the shocking statistic that the food industry accounts for nearly a third of global emissions. They immediately identified one simple need: factual and concrete information on what we all can do to reduce the impact of food on the climate and our planet. This is why they founded Klimato, to cut food-related emissions by raising awareness of how our eating habits affect the climate, and to bridge the knowledge gap for the consumer.
When they started they wanted to make people aware of the climate impact of food, and how small daily decisions, like choosing your breakfast, lunch or dinner, can lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions. Climate labels sit at the point of decision for restaurant guests when looking at the menu, which made labelling a natural first step when developing our solution.
Carbon measurement, tracking and labelling are becoming recognised as crucial for the food industry. In just the past few months they’ve seen an increase in people finding them as a result of researching climate solutions that they didn’t even know existed a year ago. The objective is to communicate scientific information in a way that makes it easily digestible for restaurants and their consumers.
Food is something that concerns everyone. Everyone has to eat. Climate change means more drought, floods, extreme weather, etc., which impact food production massively. Simultaneously, food production is a significant driver of climate change. It’s sort of like a cat biting its own tail.
Klimato intended to turn this around and make food production and consumption a means to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions today and for future generations. At Klimato they believe rigorous calculation, tracking and monitoring, along with awareness and transparency, provide the tools to identify and start to reduce the emissions that are intensifying and accelerating global climate change. In 2021, 7,284 tonnes of CO2e were saved by Klimato users. In other words, this equates to roughly 31,000 one-way trips from London to Rome for one person.
They have partnered with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, who have one of the most extensive carbon footprint databases for food in the world. The partnership was born soon after Klimato was founded. They have also, during the last two years, developed their own carbon footprint database based on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) – adapting the raw data to make it applicable to different countries. Also, the data was contextualised to make sense both for restaurants who are dealing with large quantities, numerous recipes and complex supply chains, and for consumers who want to figure out how to make climate friendly food decisions daily.
Hotel group partners with Klimato
Hotel group Exclusive Collection has joined forces with carbon labelling company Klimato to highlight the carbon footprint of each dish within its corporate and private event food menus in a bid to be more sustainable. This latest collaboration means that all conference, meeting and wedding menus will display the carbon footprint associated with each meal, allowing organisers to make more informed decisions rather than basing their choices purely on taste and price alone.
Exclusive Collection already works to minimise food waste, and strives to grow its own produce where possible, aiming to promote a zero waste policy across its venues. Moreover, this isn’t the first time that Exclusive Collection has partnered up with an eco-forward company, the group also works with OLIO, which helps take leftover food from events and redistribute it to local communities and projects where possible. At one of the venues, South Lodge in Horsham, if something is unable to be redistributed, then it is sent to the onsite rocket composter, which processes any commercial and green waste to be reused as a natural fertiliser.
The luxury brand is known for owning country houses in various locations across the country, and channels a progressive outlook on sustainability. This ethos has led it to be the UKs first certified B Corp hotel company. David Connell, Director of Operations for Exclusive Collection, explained that events are a significant sector for the group, and food is an important part of events, so it therefore made sense to focus on this area.
Connell continued ‘By working with Klimato and encouraging and educating clients to make conscious choices when they are with us, we’re bringing a huge new dynamic to the way we cater for events that can only have a bigger, positive impact for all.’ Exclusive Collection is committed to educating its clients, team, and supply partners on the benefits of conscientious commercial decisions, by making the process clear and easier to understand.
Sodexo introduces carbon-labelled school meals
Sodexo has introduced carbon-labelled school meals at 12 secondary academies in the Oasis Community Learning portfolio, following a successful trial earlier this year. The school meals provider carried out a trial using a CO2e labelling app (Klimato) at two academies, Oasis Academy Arena in Croydon, south London and Oasis Academy MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester.
Sodexo uses the app to calculate the quantitative carbon footprint of each of the main courses on its secondary school menu and has created a traffic light system with ‘low-medium-high’ CO2 emissions labels so the students can see at a glance the environmental impact of each dish. To help educate its young diners on the carbon labelling Sodexo’s marketing team developed eye-catching promotional artwork for the dining rooms, pull up banners, bunting, flyers and branded t-shirts to launch the initiative at the two trial sites.
The campaign captured the imagination of the students and results from the initial months of the trial, show an increase in uptake of CO2e friendly options including chickpea curry and white bean chilli – at both Oasis Academy MediaCityUK and Oasis Academy Arena. At both academies the number of students choosing low carbon meals has increased – Oasis Academy MediaCityUK – 78% to 90% and Oasis Academy Arena – 71% to 88%.
The average kg CO2e per meal reduced at Oasis Academy MediaCityUK – 0.6 to 0.4 and Oasis Academy Arena – 0.5 to 0.4. The results from the trial are also helping to inform ongoing menu development. Chickpea curries and white bean chilli dishes are proving popular, whilst popular high CO2e recipes such as beef jollof, cottage pie and beef lasagne are being reviewed to replace part of the meat content with high quality plant-based protein alternatives to lower the carbon impact of that dish.
Steve Hawkins. managing director, Schools, Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “Using the CO2e labelling helps pupils to make more sustainable choices and educate themselves about the carbon footprint of food more generally. We are equipping young diners to make the right climate conscious choices and encouraging them to try low carbon dishes to help minimise damage to our planet. We have worked with Oasis to help educate its students on the impact food has on the environment. In the dining halls we have thought-provoking food facts about high CO2e foods such as beef burgers.”
“Sustainability is a high priority for Sodexo and Oasis and together through initiatives like this we are helping make a better tomorrow for future generations. Opting to choose a more CO2e friendly lunch may seem like a small gesture for an individual but when people change their behaviours in large numbers it really adds up.”
Venues Collection and carbon labelling
The Venues Collection has introduced ‘carbon labelling’ across all its menus. The new initiative aims to empower event organisers and help them make informed decisions when choosing the food to be served at their events. The Venues Collection is working with Klimato; a third-party business that tracks global food sourcing and movement to create up to date carbon footprint information about ingredients of a dish.
In the food industry, climate labels are based on calculations of the emissions of greenhouse gases presented as kg carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2e). The calculations in turn are based on values assigned to each stage of the production of the food through life cycle assessments (LCAs). Commenting on the news, Jo Austin, sales director, The Venues Collection, said: “Organisers have the responsibility of choosing many hundreds of meals for their events, so their choices have a significant impact on sustainability. Sustainability anxiety is very real, so we are helping to overcome this by arming organisers with information; knowing the impact that a meal has on the climate gives organisers more ownership and control over what they are choosing for their delegates and the total impact their event will have on the climate.
“No food is off limit; each of the items on our menus are colour coded with varying shades of green and an easy-to-understand scale so organisers can see at a glance where each item sits on the carbon emissions scale. Just like a healthy diet, where ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food are eaten in moderation, this approach allows organisers and delegates to easily eat carbon consciously when visiting us.
Dynamify teams up with Klimato
A UK-first, Dynamify has teamed up with Klimato to develop a digital carbon labelling system for the catering industry to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. Launching a UK-first, food tech startup – Dynamify – has collaborated with sustainability software specialist – Klimato – to develop a digital carbon labelling system to enable the catering industry to dramatically reduce its carbon emissions.
In partnership with some of the largest financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies, organisations adopting the digital carbon labelling system has achieved up to 16% in emissions reductions in just over 12 months setting them on track to achieve 30% by 2025. By utilising the digital carbon labelling system, Dynamify’s clients – including Sodexo, Elior, Atalian, ISS, WSH, and CH&CO, as well as Fortune Global 500 companies and universities – can track, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint.
“In sites that Dynamify and Klimato are already operating within, we’ve seen a 23% reduction in their carbon footprint in just 18 months. Therefore, we’re confident in our 30% carbon reduction forecast having combined the two services, thanks to rolling carbon labelling out to more ordering channels. The ongoing climate emergency, and events such as the record heat, have prompted more businesses to responsibly accelerate their march towards the UK’s net zero target by 2050. By introducing digital carbon labelling, we expect food service providers and retailers to change their product offering as consumer awareness grows and as demand for more sustainable products increases,” commented Maxwell Harding, Founder, of Dynamify.
Today, Klimato is working with customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the UK, but are currently planning for a European expansion. Climate change is a global issue, and efforts to reduce the climate impact of the food industry should be made on a global scale. They are working on a climate footprint database which will make country-specific carbon footprint calculations easier. They also want their labels to cover more sustainability indicators, like water footprint and biodiversity impact, in addition to carbon footprint.
Finally, while today they are mainly working with food service providers, they are looking to expand this to work more with food brands. They have noticed a growing interest among consumers and would love to be part of reducing food-related emissions beyond restaurants, and make it easier for anyone to track the carbon footprint of what they eat in their everyday life – at home, on the go, and in restaurants.
